Video 7:30
Two hours that changed Ukraine's history

Philip WilliamsUpdated
Mon 24 Feb 2014, 8:33 PM AEDT

Weeks of stand-off between security forces and anti-government protesters in Ukraine came to a dramatic climax over the weekend and, as an uneasy truce holds, we can look back at the hours that could change the country's history.

Transcript

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: An uneasy truce seems to be holding in Ukraine, but the political situation remains tense and confused. Yesterday, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to dismiss the country's president and appointed an interim president in his place. But Viktor Yanukovych refused to stand down, accusing his opponents of staging a coup. His support though now seems to be ebbing away. Europe correspondent Phil Williams has been on the streets of Kiev and filed this report, starting with the events of Thursday.

PHILIP WILLIAMS, REPORTER: After days of bloody confrontation, power began to shift. The squeeze imposed by the police was faltering. The protestors' defences held.

Then, as police ran back, the real slaughter began. In two mad hours the Government lost its moral legitimacy, the police lost control and dozens of protestors lost their lives.

Against that horrific background, EU ministers brokered a deal with the President and opposition leaders. There'd be fresh elections, but for the moment, Viktor Yanukovych would stay in power.

It was too much for the protestors, who held their ground. They insisted he leave now, and in one sense, he did.

On Saturday morning, there was utter confusion. The President, the Government, the police had all gone from the capital.

This is an extraordinary situation. Right here, right now, central Kiev is under the control of the protestors. They set up very strong lines of control, as you can see here. And if you look behind me over here, you'll see a lot of ordinary citizens come to see what's happened. Down the road there is the presidential palace. That's the administrative heart of the nation. The President is nowhere to be seen, but it's being protected. There's no looting, there's no rioting, there's no mayhem. This is an extremely well-organised protest, it's extremely well-organised cordon and this is happening throughout the city. Progressively, street by street, it appears that the rebels, that the protestors are gaining ground. But the Government appears to be dissolving as we speak.

The memorials for the dead are everywhere. But these ones are at the exact spots where people were gunned down like rabbits.

The flowers mark every bloodstain. Most blame the President for this and praise those who fought to the end.

VADIN TORLPECO: These people deserve to be commemorated as heroes, those who laid down their lives and those who happily stayed alive. But it's like they need to be fully supported. And you know what's happening? People in these past two days have been queuing up for long hours to make their donations, the people of this city. So even if the Government - I think there will be a new breed of government, a new brand of government that will certainly not leave them to their own devices.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: Two blocks away, defence units were being hurriedly marshalled around the Parliament. A big crowd was building outside, while inside, a now opposition-dominated chamber, the old order was crumbling - a new speaker, fresh elections, the dismissal of the President.

People were told Viktor Yanukovych had resigned.

Is this the end, is this the solution?

ARSENIY YATSENYUK, OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER: This is the end for this government and this President. And this is the jump-start for the new country.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: The whole crisis started with President Viktor Yanukovych's last-minute decision not to sign a trade and travel deal with the European Union and sign instead a pact with the Russians, who were offering billions in support for a failing economy.

But now, the President, who'd fled to the east of the country, was described his sacking by Parliament as a coup.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: Despite that defiance, the reality was something else. In the west of the country, the President's word counted for little, and even in his strongholds in the east, backing was far from guaranteed.

Though in some places, it was still dangerous to show support for the Kiev protestors, as this man found out to his cost.

But this tumultuous day had yet another surprise. The release from jail of Yanukovych's fiercest political rival and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She'd run against Viktor Yanukovych in the last presidential election, accusing him of rigging the result. She'd been jailed on corruption charges many regarded as politically-motivated.

Despite being in a wheelchair with serious back problems developed in jail, she was heading straight to Independence Square and she was not alone.

Her determination to push through all barriers puts her high on the list of presidential hopefuls.

YULIA TYMOSHENKO, FORMER UKRANIAN PRIME MINISTER (voiceover translation): Today you have an open road to build Ukraine the way you want, but it's important that you barely trust the politicians and bureaucrats. That is why you must stay here until the person you trust is elected in an honest way.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: Despite a packed square, she is not universally loved. Some associate her with old politics. But for now, there was a genuine sense of victory, a celebration of possibility.

On Sunday, with Viktor Yanukovych nowhere to be seen or heard, MPs appointed their own interim president.

In Maidan, or Independence Square, the mood could hardly be more different from the night before, as thousands came to pay their respects at the makeshift memorials. Young and old, united in their grief. Like everyone here, Natalie Einedenkina is woman of the price paid for the new Ukraine emerging from the ashes of this extraordinary place.

NATALIE EINEDENKINA: It's our history, but it's so hard. You can see the faces of all these people. It's hard to - all the families to - to - everybody, because someone dies for us, for our freedom. It's really hard.

SARAH FERGUSON: Phil Williams with that report. And the acting Interior Minister for Ukraine has just said that an arrest warrant has been issued for ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and announced a probe into the "mass murder of protestors in Kiev".